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Journal ArticleDOI

Access Regulation and the Transition from Copper to Fiber Networks in Telecoms

TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms' incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to next generation broadband infrastructures is studied, where the authors analyze geographically differential access prices of copper (that depend on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed in the area).
Abstract: In this paper we study the impact of different forms of access obligations on firms’ incentives to migrate from the legacy copper network to next generation broadband infrastructures. We analyze geographically differential access prices of copper (that depend on whether or not an alternative fiber network has been deployed in the area) and ex-ante access obligations for fiber networks. We discuss how these regulatory schemes fare in addressing the tension among different objectives, such as the promotion of static efficiency, fostering investments in new infrastructures, and avoiding unnecessary duplication of (fiber) networks.

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  • The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes and projects, and a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives.
  • The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration and the expanding membership of the European Union.
  • The EUI and the RSCAS are not responsible for the opinion expressed by the author(s).

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RSCAS 2013/52
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Florence School of Regulation
Access regulation and the transition from copper to
fiber networks in telecoms
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan


European University Institute
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Florence School of Regulation
Access regulation and the transition from copper to fiber
networks in telecoms
Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan
EUI Working Paper RSCAS 2013/52

This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other
purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s).
If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the
working paper, or other series, the year and the publisher.
ISSN 1028-3625
© Marc Bourreau, Carlo Cambini, Pınar Doğan, 2013
Printed in Italy, July 2013
European University Institute
Badia Fiesolana
I 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI)
Italy
www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/
www.eui.eu
cadmus.eui.eu

Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Stefano
Bartolini since September 2006, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research and to
promote work on the major issues facing the process of integration and European society.
The Centre is home to a large post-doctoral programme and hosts major research programmes and
projects, and a range of working groups and ad hoc initiatives. The research agenda is organised
around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European
integration and the expanding membership of the European Union.
Details of the research of the Centre can be found on:
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/
Research publications take the form of Working Papers, Policy Papers, Distinguished Lectures and
books. Most of these are also available on the RSCAS website:
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Publications/
The EUI and the RSCAS are not responsible for the opinion expressed by the author(s).
Florence School of Regulation
The Florence School of Regulation (FSR) is a partnership between the Robert Schuman Centre for
Advanced Studies (RSCAS) at the European University Institute (EUI), the Council of the European
Energy Regulators (CEER) and the Independent Regulators Group (IRG). Moreover, as part of the
EUI, the FSR works closely with the European Commission.
The objectives of the FSR are to promote informed discussions on key policy issues, through
workshops and seminars, to provide state-of-the-art training for practitioners (from European
Commission, National Regulators and private companies), to produce analytical and empirical
researches about regulated sectors, to network, and to exchange documents and ideas.
At present, its scope is focused on the regulation of Energy (electricity and gas markets), of
Communications & Media, and of Transport.
This series of working papers aims at disseminating the work of scholars and practitioners on current
regulatory issues.
For further information
Florence School of Regulation
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
European University Institute
Via Boccaccio, 151
I-50133 Firenze
Tel.: +39 055 4685 751
Fax: +39 055 4685 755
E-mail: fsr@eui.eu
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/ProfessionalDevelopment/FSR/

Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that, although the EECC can generally be seen as step into the right direction, the expected effects on investment incentives as well as substantial implementation challenges in combination with a high degree of complexity of the envisaged measures contain substantial potential for improvement.
Abstract: In September 2016, the European Commission (EC) published its proposal for a directive establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) – with one key aim being the provision of sufficient incentives for infrastructure investments into high-speed communication networks. Based on a detailed review of the theoretical and empirical literature of the most relevant regulatory measures – that is, co-investment models as well as different types of access regulation – we provide a critical appraisal of the respective provisions in the EECC. We find that, although the EECC can generally be seen as step into the right direction, the expected effects on investment incentives as well as substantial implementation challenges in combination with a high degree of complexity of the envisaged measures contain substantial potential for improvement.

4 citations

01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, anaphora extractor was used to extract bitstreams from 1.1.46-bitstreams and checksum: 9f5b0c5b5b 5dc30a94e85511e5700ffae4.
Abstract: Submitted by ΑΝΝΑ ΠΟΡΤΙΝΟΥ (annaportinou@ekt.gr) on 2016-05-18T10:52:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 1.46_ΑΝ_20_10_13.pdf: 400568 bytes, checksum: 9f5b0c5b5dc30a94e85511e5700ffae4 (MD5)

3 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study how the migration from an old to a new technology is affected by the access price to the old technology, and show that both the incumbent and the regulator are willing to set a very high access price, to accelerate consumers' migration to the new technology.
Abstract: We study how the migration from an old to a new technology is affected by the access price to the old technology. We show that both the incumbent and the regulator are willing to set a very high access price to accelerate consumers' migration to the new technology. When the quality of the old technology is exogenous and the entrant dominates investment in the new technology, the old technology is completely switched off in equilibrium, whereas the old technology persists when the incumbent dominates investment. When the incumbent can decide on an endogenous upgrade of the old technology, the migration to the new technology is slowed down, and the entrant might be foreclosed.

3 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide evidence on the migration of consumers from an "old" (copper-based) to a "new" (fiberbased) communications technology, taking specifically into account the impact of regulatory interventions imposed on the old technology.
Abstract: This paper provides evidence on the migration of consumers from an “old” (copper-based) to a “new” (fiber-based) communications technology, taking specifically into account the impact of regulatory interventions imposed on the old technology. The analysis has been applied to a sample of EU25 countries using panel data from 2003 to 2014 on the adoption (i.e. the demand of subscriptions by households and firms), and take-up rate of ultra-fast broadband technology (i.e. the ratio between fiber subscribers - “homes connected” - to population covered with fiber connections - “homes passed”). Results show that an increase in the regulated price for accessing the existing old network favours consumer migration to the new technology. However, the access price to old technology negatively affects the take-up rate of the new technology. This implies that access regulation also positively affects broadband coverage but more than demand adoption. Hence, in order to raise broadband take-up rate, other instruments are needed to support ultra-fast broadband subscriptions.

3 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the economic performance of ex ante regulation of the telecommunications industry and compare this regulatory framework to alternative approaches that respond better to the developments in the sector.
Abstract: In this study we address the economic performance of ex ante regulation of the telecommunications industry and compare this regulatory framework to alternative approaches that respond better to the developments in the sector. The focus is on the Dutch market with two fixed networks with national coverage and a potentially converging mobile market. The economic effects of the ex ante regulatory approach are mixed. On the one hand it promoted lower retail prices for the benefit of consumers. On the other hand, the notion of a 'ladder of investment' – the transition from service-based competition to infrastructure competition – did not fully materialize. A central conclusion is that regulation needs to focus less on static efficiency, that is, competition, in favor of dynamic efficiency, namely investments and innovations. This shift in emphasis would be more in line with social welfare as the ultimate objective of regulation. It would require regulation to create more room for market forces (deregulation) and therefore to diverse and new business models. Deregulation, however may need to be complemented with ex post supervision and a reconsidered form of access regulation as a backstop option.

3 citations

References
More filters
Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate the effect of broadband infrastructure, which enables high-speed internet, on economic growth in the panel of OECD countries in 1996-2007, and find that a 10 percentagepoint increase in broadband penetration raises annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points.
Abstract: We estimate the effect of broadband infrastructure, which enables high-speed internet, on economic growth in the panel of OECD countries in 1996-2007. Our instrumental-variable model derives its non-linear first stage from a logistic diffusion model where pre-existing voice-telephony and cable-TV networks predict maximum broadband penetration. We find that a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration raises annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points. Results are robust to country and year fixed effects and controlling for linear second-stage effects of our instruments. We verify that our instruments predict broadband penetration but not diffusion of contemporaneous technologies like mobile telephony and computers.

767 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors survey the relevant theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between regulation, at both retail and wholesale level, and investment in telecoms infrastructures, and conclude that the picture that emerges is not conclusive, and further research is still needed, both theoretically and empirically, to better understand the real impact of regulatory incentives on investments.

385 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse competition between two retailers of broadband access when they differ in their ability to offer value-added services, and show that access price regulation may lower consumer surplus and welfare if retailers do not differ too much.

177 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the incentives of an incumbent and an entrant to migrate from an "old" technology to a "new" technology, and discuss how the terms of wholesale access affect this migration.

127 citations

Frequently Asked Questions (6)
Q1. What are the objectives of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies?

The objectives of the FSR are to promote informed discussions on key policy issues, through workshops and seminars, to provide state-of-the-art training for practitioners (from European Commission, National Regulators and private companies), to produce analytical and empirical researches about regulated sectors, to network, and to exchange documents and ideas. 

At present, its scope is focused on the regulation of Energy (electricity and gas markets), of Communications & Media, and of Transport. 

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), created in 1992 and directed by Stefano Bartolini since September 2006, aims to develop inter-disciplinary and comparative research and to promote work on the major issues facing the process of integration and European society. 

The research agenda is organised around a set of core themes and is continuously evolving, reflecting the changing agenda of European integration and the expanding membership of the European Union. 

Florence School of Regulation Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute Via Boccaccio, 151 I-50133 Firenze Tel.: +39 055 4685 751 Fax: +39 055 4685 755 E-mail: fsr@eui.eu http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/ProfessionalDevelopment/FSR/ aa w~0.400 a 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.40.200.300.100.00 

Details of the research of the Centre can be found on: http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/Research publications take the form of Working Papers, Policy Papers, Distinguished Lectures and books.